Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the very important subject that the government must manage the economy in the interests of all Australians. Well, it's a good thing we are. I don't need to explain to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that we are currently fighting a war on two fronts—the public health of the nation, including ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of individuals is cared for and considered, and the economic impacts of a shutdown that we had to have and that has protected our nation's health. To make a successful and prosperous nation you must have a strong and solid economy. You need consumer confidence in the markets, strong trading partnerships internationally and a mix of small, medium and large enterprises that support a strong workforce. As John Howard once said, 'You can't fatten a pig on market day.' During successive Liberal-National governments we have balanced the budget and we've ensured that when times get tough there is enough in the bank to help us all survive, and survive we will. The swift and decisive action of the Morrison government meant that protections were in place for the economy when they were needed. The JobKeeper package offered to businesses to help them to ensure that they endure the shutdown means that they will still be there when our society resumes, when we are back eating at cafes and in restaurants, visiting clothes stores and going to the gym.

In my electorate of Higgins I have had hundreds, if not thousands, of emails and phone calls thanking the Morrison government for the JobKeeper program. Small business owners, whose work is their passion, are the best people to run their businesses. They have put in the long hours, employed people in our community and given their all. Often the margins are slim, the rent is high and it costs a lot to keep the lights on, but they keep going because they are committed to the survival of their business. The Morrison government knows this. We know the extra hours spent balancing books and doing rosters and time sheets. When the government had to make tough decisions and ask Australian businesses to help us help the nation, they did just that, so it was only right that the government returned the favour.

In Higgins alone I can see the results of the JobKeeper program. Hema Maps in Caulfield is owned by Sam, who lives in my electorate. It's a wonderful business. Hema Maps employs 44 full-time staff and produces a range of award-winning maps and navigational products, including apps for tourists to visit regional Australia, New Zealand and North America. There's not a lot of travelling going on at the moment. In late February they were drawing up plans to stand down 80 per cent of their workforce, effective immediately. Sam knows the importance of providing people with the dignity of employment. You can't imagine how thrilled he was at the JobKeeper program. Sam has been able to keep his staff employed. He will be able to get his business going through the tough times and be positioned to meet the recovery when it comes.

There's also Tailored Cafe in Korrnang Road Carnegie. It's owned by Sean. He is delighted by the JobKeeper program because it's keeping two of his staff employed. It will enable him to keep his business afloat. By being able to stay open, when things get back to normal he'll be able to increase his business and return to work and trading.

Levi's is a fantastic cafe in Murrumbeena. In fact, it's got the best eggplant toasties in Australia. Go down there. They're absolutely amazing. Harry tells me that we have helped him to save his business. He has had five full-time staff who have been kept on the books and the business is dynamic enough to weather this storm with those staff. He only opened recently and he's thrilled that he can keep going.

In Australia we know that there's a forecast that the GDP will fall by 10 per cent in the June quarter, our biggest fall on record. This is not a small issue. We know our unemployment rate is expected to reach around 10 per cent, but if we didn't have JobKeeper it would have been 15 per cent. These are incredibly important measures. I'm proud of the strong leadership of Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg, the executive and our government to help Australia to ensure that we recover.

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